and that includes the san onofre plant in southern california. terry mccarthy reports it is a plant with a history of problems-- problems that some whistle-blowers claim were ignored for years. >> reporter: the explosions at the fukushima nuclear complex in japan terrified people as far away as san clemente, california, home to the san onofre nuclear plant. >> japan is an exact perfect example of what can happen. we are less than two miles away red we're scared. >> reporter: the 28-year-old plant is just five miles from an earthquake fault. like fukushima, it has a long history of management problems and safety violations including faulty diesel generators, falsified fire watch reports and inoperable emergency batteries. >> the thing that was occurring was there was very little oversight. >> reporter: mike mason worked at san onofre for 30 years, rick busnardo for 25. they were in charge of making canisters to store spent nuclear fuel, one of the biggest worries right now at the japan plant. in 2008, they discovered an employee was welding the ca

two in california, diablo canyon and san onofre are built near earthquake faults. many of these commuters along interstate 5 are more than the seven and a half californians living within a 50-mile radius of the san onofre plant. nuclear power critics say because of that, radiation monitoring networks need to be properly running at all times. the company operating san onofre claims it's safe. >> i think it's important for the public to understand that this plant did its homework on the risks and then overbuilt. >> this is too loose. >> reporter: still some residents of nearby san clemente say they're frightened. >> they don't realize just how scared the community can get, especially after a crisis like japan. >> reporter: this, as questions are raised about whether it could happen here, and whether warning systems will work if it does. george lewis, nbc news, san onofre, california. >>> something incredible has happened to people in the gulf of mexico who were already victims of the bp spill. now they are victims of potential identity theft. and bp has another massi

diaz is suing southern california edison which owns san onofre.claims employees complained of excessive overtime and fatigue. >> we have conducted a thorough review of the concerns and we are satisfied with how the employee was handled, and how the issues that were raised were dealt with. let me emphasize, this type of thing is taken very, very seriously. >> reporter: san onofre sits on the southern california coast just five miles from an earthquake fault line. it has had a long history of safety violations. >> japan is an exact perfect example of what can happen. we are less than two miles away, and we're scared. >> reporter: that fear only escalates with each new report of radiation concerns in japan. sandra hughes, cbs news, los angeles. >>> the fbi is asking for help in solving a mysterious cold case murder. in june of 1999, 41-year-old ricky mccormick was found dead near st. louis, missouri. a pair of notes found in his jeans, consisting of handwritten capital letters, numbers and dashes. the fbi says it can't crack the code, and has release

we're at the san onofre nuclear power plant midway between los angeles and san diego right on the coastline and smack in the middle of america's earthquake country, and what's going on in japan raises very real concerns about the potential for such a disaster here. a deadly natural disaster that threatens to unleash an even deadlier manmade one. the operators of the san onofre nuclear power plant insist they're prepared. is this plant safe? >> absolutely this plant is safe. >> reporter: we asked the white house to explain how u.s. nuclear safety standards compare to japanese ones. >> u.s. power plants are designed to very high standards for earthquake effect. >> reporter: of the 100 plus nuclear power plants in the u.s., 11 are in areas prone to earthquakes. early indications are the daiichi reactor withstood the quake and the tsunami, but as we know, that one/two punch cut off the power supply and then knocked out the backup generators, a scenario the industry calls a station blackout. >> there are many pathways to station blackout at atomic reactors here in the united states. tsunamis cou

al arrasar el norte de ese país y ha hecho tambalear su sistema de plantas nucleares. >> una es san onofreecnología empleada en japón pero era casi imposible que algo similar ocurra en esta planta diseñada hace 40 años está construida para resistir un terremoto magnitud 7. >> aún así decían que están listos para poner en marcha un sistema de 50 sirenas de seguridad que en caso de fuga o incendios sonrían para alertar a la operación que sigan instrucciones de bomberos y autoridades. >> en las calles parecen sentirse seguros pero con la madre naturaleza nunca se sabe. >> lo que me preocupa es la radiación de los nirns que estamos cerca de la planta nuclear, que la radiación se salga de la planta nuclear que haya un terremoto, aquí tan cerca y de las plantas nucleares. >> lo único que podemos hacer es, es tener fe de que no pase nada algo así. >> lo que queda claro para los expertos en estas plantas nucleares es que los sucedido en el japón abre un abanico de estudio y aprendizaje y hoy los científicos investigan qué falló en japón para evitar que algo así vuelva a suceder. >> liliana escalan

there are two, diablo canyon and san onofre. >> reporter: just 60 miles from the san andreas fault is. for 25 years it has churned out electricity. pacific gas and electric says this would survive an earthquake up to 7.5. >> like all u.s. plants we overbuilt. >> reporter: between l.a. and san diego, southern california edison operates the san onofre plant supplying electricity to 1.5 million households. they say its plant can stand up to 7.0 magnitude quake and has a 30-foot wall to hold off a potential tsunami. >> we mean our ability to shut down and maintain it safely. certainly you are not intending to operate the plant during an emergency but you want to shut it down and protect the public. we can do that. >> reporter: none of the faults in california are expected to produce anything close to the quake that has devastated japan. state and federal officials say we are well prepared for any natural disaster but that's also what the japanese assumed about their own nuclear reactors. >> it does tell you that your assumptions about safety may be wrong and i think we really need to go b

. >>> the san onofre plant in san diego county and diablo canyon up here, can handle a 7.5 quake. the operators say it can withstand a magnitude 7 quake. >> when we talk about withstand, we mean the ability to shut it down. certainly you are not intending to operate it in an emergency safety. but if you within to shut down it down -- but if you want to shut it down and protect the public we can do it. >> experts say water is key. >>> one man is in police custody after a bank standoff in marin county ended peacefully. it's an update to a story we first brought you on the news at 5:00. the 25-year-old finally walked out of the bank of america, just after 10:15 last night. that's where the man helped police at bay -- held the -- police at bay for hours. the suspect walked into the bank of america and took hostages. the man eventually let everyone leave and hostage negotiators were able to convince him. >> we showed him we were there and we were not leaving. >> police added the man was upset with president obama and the ceo of bank of america for what he was calling inequality in amer

. >> la planta de san onofre tiene un área de 50 millas cuadradas en dónde viven 11 millones de personas al sur y al norte de los Ángeles son las más vulnerables por estar cerca de la falla de san andrés los expertoss continúan insistiendo y podrían resistir un terremoto de gran magnitud. en los Ángeles, california, francisco cuevas telemundo. >> >> aumenta la preocupación sobre el precio de la gasolina aquí y lo más importante es buscar métodos para ahorrar pero no todos los consejos que se escuchan por la calle son ciertos. por ejemplo, no es cierto que se ahorra y se llena el tanque por las mañanas tampoco cambiando el filtro de aire y menos ponerle a su auto una gasolina más potente que la recomendado, quiere decir más cara. >> en un instante: desde méxico a japón los topos viajan con ganas de b >> en medio de la tragedia que estremece japón una noticia positiva, el rescate llamado los topos y n topos. >> cuerdas, seguro, cascos y ropa especial, todo cae en las bolsas pero las ganas principales son las ganas >> dios nos pone hacer eso, lo que no pueden hacer tienen los hermanos que s

reports on working conditions inside the san onofre nuclear plant. >> reporter: he says he couldn't ignore what other employees were telling him. that last september, they were afraid to go to their own bosses and complain about working conditions inside the san onofre nuclear generating station. >> all the employees, they're young, smart, and really bright people and they just wanted to be heard. the problem was that they would raise three concerns and their management either wasn't responding in a timely fashion or just wasn't responding at all. >> reporter: so the 35-year-old project manager went outside the gates, complaining directly to the nuclear regulatory commission. a month later in october of 2010, he was fired with this explanation -- >> the exact words were, they don't need you to be their superhero, and then the employees were also told not to raise concerns outside of their chain of command. >> reporter: seven months before that firing, the nrc issued this letter accusing southern california edison of creating a chilling effect in its work environment. according to the nrc,

she was concerned about the diablo canyon and san onofre plants and wanted to know why they didn't do a safety inspection. >> i have two plants with millions of people within 50 miles that were designed in the 70s. new information about earthquakes and i need you to take a look at it. >> abc news took an in depth look at earthquake safety at the nuclear plants. how ready are we? continuing coverage of the disaster in the pacific is coming up after this newscast on "nightline" at 11:35. hope you can stay tuned for that. >>> we will move to other news. coming up next, an experienced surfer drowned at mavericks. we will have that story. and the questions faced by potential jurors in barry bonds' trial. and a muslim student who was removed from a flight to san jose all because of what a flight attendant thought she heard. and the trouble that will keep and the trouble that will keep highway 1 shut down in bigñññññi go! go! completing an atm deposit in record time... that's a step forward. go! go! with deposit friendly atms, you can make ultra fast, secure deposits with no slips or envelop

. >> california senators are especially interested in the diablo canyon and san onofre power plants, both of them located near earthquake faults. >>> and there are ways they want victims of the quake and tsunami. log on to our website, cbssf.com and click on "links and numbers" for a list of agencies that are coordinating emergency relief. >>> 4:36. in other news this morning, san jose police are trying to track down a gunman who shot a man outside of a fast-food restaurant. the victim was shot in the head at close range during yesterday's lunch rush at a mcdonald's on bascomb avenue. he was rushed to valley medical center across the street. we have just talked to san jose police who say the victim remains on life support this morning. police are now trying to determine how that gunman and the victim knew one another. >> shot him, just kept walking down the sidewalk real calm and i seen him tucking the gun back away or whatever he had on him. i couldn't see what it was. >> a surveillance camera at neighboring liberty tax appears to show the gunman you see him running shortly afterwar

one in san onofre south of orange county in oceanside. the other in san luis obispo. both reactors were built to withstand a 7.0 quake. the one in japan was 9.0. >> thousands of no one and nowhere to turn, a few lucky families have been able to make it out of the island nation and leave the death, devastation and mounting radiation threat behind. if only for a short time. nbc bay area talked to someone who escaped just as another explosion rocked the nuclear power plant. >> for her, it was tears of sadness and relief. she said she is relieved that her friend jan is allowing her and her two daughters to live with them in the east bay until she feels safe enough to go home. >> people are very scared. >> reporter: scared of more earthquakes and possible exposure to radiation from the nuclear power plant in japan. >> the third one, i guess, happened right when they left. the explosion, they are just feeling that these two need to make sure that they are healthy and protected. >> reporter: her husband had a ticket to come with his family but decided to stay in japan to hel

just down the coast at the san onofre nuclear plant, an employee is raising concerns to the feds. he's now suing the operator of the plant for wrongful termination. the man claims employees complained about safety-related issues such as worker fatigue and excessive overtime that could compromise the plant's safety. the former manager says he was told not to address the complaints by his higher-ups. >> the exact words were, they don't need you to be their superhero. and then the employees were also told not to raise concerns. >> socal edison is not discussing details on the lawsuit but did say if the allegations are deemed true, it is a fireable offense if managers threatened people's jobs. >>> in the meantime, the situation in japan is not good. four of the six reactors at the fukushima daiichi plant are damaged beyond repair. this from the chairman of the tokyo electric power company today. he's also taking over daily operations at tokyo electric because the company's president has been hospitalized for an illness brought on by stress. tonight the intern atomic energy agency is u

right now, we're over the san onofre nuclear generating station. one of the largest in the country. it's built to withstand a 7.0 quake, but as you can see, it's right on the beach. plus, it's right next to a major freeway. we're also very close to camp pendleton. and in an emergency, 70,000 sailors, marines and their families would be in immediate danger. los angeles and san diego are very close by. in fact, 7 million people live within 50 miles of where we are right now. >> reporter: now, lawmakers are urging that reactors across the country be re-evaluated for safety. sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >> a staggering number of people. >>> and coming up, what queen elizabeth said to her grandson about surviving tough times. she needs help from me. and her medication. the exelon patch -- it releases medication continuously for twenty-four hours. she uses one exelon patch daily for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's symptoms. [ female announcer ] it cannot change the course of the disease. hospitalization and rarely death have been rep

the operators of the san onofre nuclear power plant insist they're prepared. is this plant safe?anese. >> reporter: here at san onofre, they say they have learned a lot from past disasters. now, across the country, nuclear power plant operators and nuclear regulators have one more disaster to study. david wright, abc news, at the san onofre nuclear power plant in california. >>> and car buyers are going to be seeing the effect of the catastrophe in japan if they're buying japanese. brands like toyota's popular prius hybrid are made entirely in japan. production has been suspended amid the disaster and no sign the assembly lines will be running any time soon. >>> officials in california say damage there from last week's tsunami could top $40 million. in santa cruz harbor, 18 vessels sank, about 100 were damaged and another 12 still remain unaccounted for. nearly 60 commercial fishing boats are stuck in the harbor for at least a week while debris is still being cleared. >> how about this story. we're seeing some amazing pictures from mexico as thousands of fish surged to the surfac

one of which, san onofre, is right near the ocean in san diego where over 1 million people live.ows how vulnerable the pacific coast of the u.s. is to a tsunami. abc's clayton sandell is in crescent city, california, where it inflicted the most damage. >> the waves came ashore here basically destroying the marina. experts tell us if the same 8.9 quake happened off our shores, it could drive a 20 to 30-foot wall of water as far as two miles inland. >> reporter: and it's not just the west coast where a damaging earthquake could strike. the entire country is crisscrossed with faults, though none as potentially dangerous as in california. the new madrid fault runs from st. louis to memphis, and the ramapo fault runs through pennsylvania, new york, and new jersey, one tentacle passing right through manhattan. even a moderate ramapo earthquake could cause major damage to an area that is home to millions. earthquake experts say that the strongest magnitude quake that could hit the mainland of the u.s. is around 8, but there are geological conditions in alaska and off the coast of washin

. >> you got san onofre and the diablo in california. and clearly any plant that is on a earthquake sensitive site ought to be double and triple checked. but to go the german route i think and shut down, that shows >> let's hear, okay, it's that simple. >> to meet our growing energy needs and prevent the worst consequences of climate change, we'll need to increase our supplies of nuclear power. it's that simple. >> president obama designated in his 2011 budget $5 for nuclear development. >> did you know that? >> yes, guaranteed. >> question, by the way, the state that has the largest number of nuclear reactors in the united states is what. >> illinois. >> tennessee. >> it's the middle of the country, that's where they ought to be. >> who -- >> barack is from illinois? >> lincoln? >> who is the mayor of chicago? >> now rahm emanuel. but they were there -- >> what did he do as an investment banker. who is his principal client, ge? >> 17 nreactors than any other >> the problem, though, illinois -- illinois. >> how many. >> yes. >> 11. okay.

i pointed out before you came we have 7 million within 50 miles of san onofre and diablo. that is a lot of people living within 50 miles and i pointed out you have wisely suggested to the americans they move away further than 50 miles. you are talking about something that could happen of such a proportion that this country has never seen before. >> heard nuclear power plant is surrounded by 16 million people. is that right? 60 million within 60 mile radius. this is not just an academic conversation. for me, we just sent a letter to you asking for inspection of our plants. i want to ask you something that he was not familiar with. are you aware that a california energy commission report said that san onofre could experience more earthquakes than the maximum seven then designed in the '70s. >> i believe we have that report. i will confirm that. >> i want you to go back and read it again. our understanding is that the nrc has not taken any of that report into account. >> i will take that back and see what we have done. >> we will ask you to do the inspections and comment on w

and in san diego county, the san onofre plant southern california edison said it can withstand up to.0 quake. and it has a 30-foot wall to hold off a potential tsunami. >> we need our ability to shut it down and maintain it safely. certainly you're not intending to operate the plant during an emergency but you want to shut it down and protect the public. we can do that. >> government also has sensors along the california coast to detect any radiation from our plants or from abroad. >>> the disaster in japan prompted santa clara county into action. the county is expanding its system to notify people in case of an emergency. the alert scc system is adding a text number so people can get messages about emergency shelters, street closures, medical assistance and other vital information. santa clara county residents can sign up by texting 32075 or by going to alertscc.com. >>> a city project in san francisco has turned into a three-month nightmare. it started easily enough. neighbors wanted to save a 70- year-old pine tree from getting banged by delivery trucks passing under it. the city

san onofre is just south of oceanside. the diablo canyon site is closer to the bay area, it's in san luis obispo. that's an electricity generating plant along the beach, about a three-hour drive from san jose. now, the political fallout from japan's nuclear scare already being felt. nuclear power opponents showing up at today's hearing of the assembly utilities committee in sacramento. they say the disaster in japan has changed the landscape for nuclear power. recently, some politicians have suggested california should talk about building more nuclear power plants. protesters say the disaster in japan makes them even more sure of their opposition. >> this is a huge game changer for california's nuclear industry. this is a heads up that we live on the other side of the pacific rim. we live exactly opposite of where japan is, and there is nothing that would stop the same thing that happens in japan from happening in california. >> the u.s. gets about 20% of its electricity from nuclear power plants. most are over 30 years old

now, representatives from the san onofre and diablo plants will be there testifying along with nuclear safety experts and the response to the tsunami along the coastline will also be debated. >>> the man who said he debated the loma prieta earthquake is now warning people in the u.s. to -- western u.s. to expect an earthquake by the end of the back. he says the full moon and the high side is a telltale sign. >>> lawmakers have cut $14 billion from the state budget. governor brown still faces the challenge of getting a hand full of americans to put $11 billion worth of tax extensions on a june ballot. >>> a bay area man says he's ready to lead california republicans to victory after a tough yore at the bal rot -- year at the ballot box. yesterday, tom del beccaro takes control of the party months after it lost all elections in the statewide election and the ongoing debate about a june election. he says he's opposed to the election and wants other cuts made instead. >> there's been studies showing 25% our programs are giving benefits to people ineligible. well, that's billions and billio

right right now we're over the san onofre nuclear generating station. and in an emergency, 70,000 sailors, marines and their families would be in immediate danger. los angeles and san diego are very close by. in fact, 7 million people live within 50 miles of where we are right now. >> reporter: across the country, lawmakers are now urging that these reactors all be evaluated for safety. as one lawmaker said, a few weeks ago, the odds of a meltdown were supposed to be one in a million. but we've seen three in the last five days. george? robin? >> here in the studio, glued to the tube and watching that. we want to thank our abc stations, wls in chicago and kabc in los angeles, for the use of their choppers. >> the president said yesterday, he's ordered the review of the safety of every nuclear plant in the united states. >>> now, to juju and the headlines. >> good morning, everyone. good morning, again, everyone. engineers in japan admit as a last resort they may have to bury their crippled nuclear power plant in concrete, the so-called chernobyl solution

further south, nearly 7.4 million people live within 50 miles of the san onofre generating station nearan clemente. i came away with some good news. i feel better about the safety precautions in place that these nuclear plants. i was impressed with the dedication and the professionalism of the large staff that runs these facilities and the regulatory agency to guard against risk. but we need to reconfirm that these facilities are designed to withstand the threat we can foresee and prepared to respond to scenarios we never imagined. that is why redundant systems, backup systems, and plans are so important. most significantly, i believe we must begin to rethink how we manage it spent fuel. spent fuel must remain in pools for five to seven years. these are the polls in workers are pouring water into in japan. however, these polls often become defacto long-term storage with fuel assemblies we wracked, thus increasing the heat load of the pools. in california, fuel removed from reactors in 1984 is still cooling in the spent fuel pools. this process may have regulatory approval, but i have a

in california, the san onofre plant sits on the fault line as fukushima. but operators insist they are prepared. there's even a 30 foot sea wall to protect against devastating tsunamis. did the japanese do anything wrong? >> the japanese plant survived the earthquake. it wasn't until it had the second hit from the tsunami. we will, as a nuclear industry in the united states, go over with a fine-tooth comb what happened in japan. and we will glean every lesson we can. and make sure that the reactors in this country, that are already safe, can be even more safe. >> reporter: we talked about the threat of terrorist attacks. the security here is incredible. there are literally heavily-armed guards at every corner. robin, i want to show you one more thing. just like in the movies, there's a switch, a breaker, that will shut down the reactors, like that. >> good to know. andrea, thank you. >>> for a bit more on this, let's bring in our nuclear expert, joe cirincione. he is president of the plow shares fund. it's been helpful having you with us all this week. we'

reactor is located near a facility where temporary generators are readily available, such as the san onofre nuclear plant in california, which is next door to the u.s. marine base in camp pen pendleton. i remind, fukushima involved vulnerability of spent fuel pools. all u.s. reactor have the spent pool cool fueled by fewer and less reviable systems than are provided for the react you're complete at all u.s. reactors it's housed in less robust containment than the reactor core. more radiated fuel that's less will protected and less well defended is a an undo hazard. upgrade the guidelines how to address an emergency and how to address an emergency and provide operator training for spent fuel pool problems. currently the u.s. spent fuel strategy is to nearly fill the pools to capacity, and then transfer fuel into dry cask storage. this keeps the spent fuel pools to capacity, maintaining the risk as high as possibly achievable. a better strategy would be to reduce the pools to only the fuel discharged in the last five years. that generates lower heat loads which gives worker more time to resto

california plants are in earthquake-prone areas, diablo canyon built to withstand a 7.5 magnitude, and san onofreesigned to withstand a 7.0. japan's was a 9.0. richard lester of m.i.t. >> we need to consider the possibility of greater magnitude earthquakes than we had previously considered. >> reporter: issue two, plant design. this is a design of the reactor in japan? >> that's correct. >> that's correct. >> reporter: there are 31 plants in the u.s. similar to those in trouble in japan, designed by general electric which is a part owner of nbc universal. one, oyster creek in new jersey, is the oldest nuclear plant in the country, about 50 miles from new york city. issue three, backup power systems. experts say the japanese reactors basically got into trouble because they lost electricity and backup power systems failed, too, leaving them struggling to cool the reactor core. marvin fertell of the energy institute says thanks to improvements since 9/11, u.s. plants have more ability to cope if power is lost. >> we would be able to handle the situation much easier than the japanese are facing now.